Second Mate Exam Guide 2026 — Deck Officer Certification

The Second Mate (or Second Officer) CoC is the first officer-level certificate for deck officers. It qualifies you to serve as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OOW) on any size ship. Here is the complete preparation guide.

Eligibility for 2nd Mate CoC

• Completion of pre-sea training (DNS or equivalent)
• 12 months approved sea service as Deck Cadet (including 6 months as OOW cadet)
• Signed Training Record Book (TRB) with all required tasks completed
• Valid STCW basic safety certificates (BST — all 4 courses)
• Valid ENG1 medical certificate

Sea service: Must include: bridge watchkeeping hours (1,080 hours as per STCW II/1), cargo operations, anchoring and mooring participation, GMDSS station supervision.

Exam Structure

The 2nd Mate CoC examination in India is administered by MMD and consists of:

Part A: Oral Examination (Practical Subjects)

Navigation (Rule of the Road — COLREG): The COLREG oral is the most important component. Examiners test your ability to apply collision regulations in real-time scenarios using a lights and shapes board, sound signals, and case studies.

Key areas:

• All 38 rules of COLREG applied to practical scenarios
• Lights and shapes for every vessel type and condition
• Sound signals: fog signals, signals in sight, restricted maneuverability signals
• Day shapes: vessel at anchor, aground, not under command, restricted in ability to manoeuvre

Ship Stability:

• List, trim, angle of loll, free surface effect
• GZ curve interpretation
• Loading conditions and their stability implications
• Tank free surfaces and how to counteract

Meteorology:

• Reading synoptic charts
• Tropical revolving storms — Northern and Southern hemisphere
• Beaufort scale in practice
• Weather routing principles

Cargo Work:

• Cargo stowage principles
• Dangerous goods classification (IMDG Code — broad knowledge)
• Bulk cargo hazards
• Container securing

Fire Prevention and Control:

• SOLAS fire safety systems
• Fire patrols and rounds
• Fire plan reading

Part B: Written Papers

Navigation (Chart Work):

• Chartwork using compass, parallel rulers — position fixing by cross-bearing, transit, horizontal sextant angle
• Tidal stream problems — vector diagrams
• Course to steer calculations (allowing for current, leeway)
• Lights — identify and calculate distance off by light

Celestial Navigation:

• Sun sight workings (altitude corrections, GHA/LHA, declination)
• Meridian passage (noon sight)
• Compass error by celestial observation
• Pole star problem

Ship Stability:

• GM calculations from loading conditions
• Free surface correction
• Shift of G calculations
• BM calculation from waterplane area

Ship Construction and Cargo Work:

• Ship structural terms and functions
• Cargo calculation — stowage factor, broken stowage
• Bulk carrier hazards

The COLREG Oral — How to Prepare

The rule of the road oral is where most candidates either pass confidently or repeatedly fail. It requires not just knowledge but instant application.

Step 1: Memorise all lights and shapes for every vessel type. Make flashcards — vessel on one side, lights/shapes on the other. Test yourself daily.

Step 2: Learn the rules in logical groups:

• Rules 1–3: Application and definitions
• Rules 4–10: Steering and sailing (sea)
• Rules 11–18: Steering and sailing (in sight of each other)
• Rules 19: Restricted visibility
• Rules 20–31: Lights and shapes
• Rules 32–37: Sound and light signals

Step 3: Practice applying rules to scenarios. “You are vessel A, power-driven, course North, speed 12 knots. Vessel B is 2 points on your starboard bow, showing green light only. State the rule that applies and your action.”

Practice 20 scenarios a day. There are scenario books specifically for COLREG (Cockroft & Lameijer is the standard reference).

Chartwork Exam Tips

• Use a sharp pencil — erasure must be clean and your plot must be legible
• Label every position, every line, every vector clearly
• Show all working — method marks exist even if the final answer has a small error
• Practice with full-scale charts — the exam uses actual Admiralty charts, not reduced versions

Timeline to 2nd Mate CoC

After DNS (1 year pre-sea training):

• 12 months sea time as cadet
• 3–6 months exam preparation
• Oral + written examinations

Realistic timeline from finishing DNS to holding 2nd Mate CoC: 2.5–3 years from starting DNS training.

Specific topics you’re stuck on for 2nd Mate exams or need COLREG scenario practice? Chat with SailorGPT for targeted exam preparation guidance.